I love curry and love making curry. Actually blending spices and getting lots of great flavours out of them is one of my favourite things to do. A thread by Janey prompted me to start this one and post some of my favourite recipes.

Curry though, is not an easy thing to make if you are not using pastes, pre mixed powders etc and I made a lot of mistakes when I was first learning, even though I had a lot of Indian friends who taught me heaps. There are a few basic rules to follow to get the best flavours out of your curries.

1. Always use fresh whole spices. I only ever buy small packs of spices and blend and grind them myself using one of those cheap electric 'coffee' grinders with the wizzy blade.2. Do not over roast or cook your spices. They are delicate and if over roasted or fried in oil they can go bitter.3. Use Ghee or Ricebran oil (although I do use olive oil from time to time when I have run out of the others.) 4. Do not add the next ingredients until the oil has separated from the curry mix (or floated to the top)

This is actually my personal recipe that I came up with a few years ago. It is not a fast recipe as the gravy requires a lot of time to develop flavour. It tastes awesome though and even better the next day. This is a large recipe as I have found it best to make up a large batch and freeze in small containers for later or as I do, place individual serves into zip lock bags (IKEA are best) and freeze. I have also doubled the gravy recipe and cooked it up until adding the coconut milk then divided it into 2 or 4 batches and frozen it. All I have done from then is remove it from the freezer, reheated, added the required coconut milk and the koftas and continued to cook. NB if doubling the gravy recipe for freezing only use 1 cup of water

Chicken Kofta CurryKofta are basically small balls that are cooked in a curry gravy (sauce). Most commonly they are made of chicken or lamb, and there are also vege ones around too. I find the best thing to use are chicken thigh fillets with the skin off. I mince them myself with a hand mincer or you can ask your butcher to do it.

GravyHeat oil/ghee in a large heavy based pan over a low to medium heat. Add Onions and sweat down until very soft and caramelised. This takes a long time but is worth it.

Add ginger, garlic and coriander/cilantro stalks and cook for a few minutes being careful not to burn the garlic. There should be enough moisture in the coriander stems to prevent this. When you see the oil starting to separate from the mixture move on to the next step.

Place all of the whole spices into a spice grinder and grind to a powder. Mix with the powdered spices. Add to the onion mix and stir through, do not allow to burn or they will become acrid and bitter. Again, watch for the oil to separate out from the gravy.

Add the tinned or fresh tomatoes, sugar and salt and bring to a very low simmer. Simmer 40-50 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent the gravy from catching on the bottom. Look to see if the oil is starting to raise to the top, although I have found that sometimes it doesn't.

Add the coconut milk and keep simmering, do not allow it to boil as it will separate and go yucky. This is when you can start making your kofta.

KoftaAdd the lemon juice to the chicken mixture and mix in well. Leave to stand about 5 minutes.

Put on a pair of kitchen (those food prep ones) gloves and rub them with a little oil. This prevents the meat from sticking to your hands. Roll the mixture in walnut sized balls and drop into the gravy one by one. As they start to fill the pan, shake it a little to evenly distribute through the pan. This also prevents them from sticking together or falling apart.

Once all kofta are in the dish cover and bring to a simmer. Remove the lid and cook 15-20 minutes.

Roughly chop the coriander/cilantro leaves and stir 2/3 into the gravy. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Serve on rice with reserved coriander leaves sprinkled on top and condiments like pickled lime, mango chutney, and mint or assorted raita (I will put recipes on this forum)

*Do not use the egg white as it will make the koftas to firm to eat.** I make my own with fresh sourdough bread, including crusts that I wizz in the food processor and leave to dry on a tray and store in a container.*** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ras_el_hanout

Last edited by lucy on Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:10 pm, edited 5 times in total.

Raita is a yoghurt based sauce that can be used as a dip and accompaniment to curries and other Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankan foods. They are quick and easy to make and basically you can add what you like depending on taste. These are my recipes, based on what we like.

The method for all of these is the same. Just mix them all together, adjust to taste and put aside in the fridge for about 15 minutes to develop flavours.

* To roast cumin seeds place a dry frypan over the heat and add the cumin seeds. Swirl around until they start to brown slightly, about 20-30 seconds. Remove from heat and tip onto a cold plate. Place in a spice grinder and grind to a powder. I usually do a few tablespoons of this at a time and store it in a glass jar.